fantasy_televisionfandomcom-20200214-history
ACME Extra
ACME Extra '''is an American free-to-air television network/syndication service that is owned in a joint venture between the Dorado Media Group, and AT&T, whose WarnerMedia subsidiary is the parent company of Warner Bros. The network first began broadcasting on August 21, 2015, as '''The WB Classics (commonly referred to as "Classics"), focusing primarily on featured classic television series from the content library of Warner Brothers Entertainment. The network adopted its current identity as ACME Extra on July 1, 2019. ACME Extra is carried on digital subchannels of affiliated television stations in most markets; however, some ACME Extra-affiliated stations carry the network as a primary affiliation on their main channel, and a small number of stations air select programs from the network alongside their regular general entertainment schedules, with a few carrying the network in high definition. History 2015: Launch and early years The network was founded by the chairman of former parent company QTV Incorporated. It was originally to be called WB Retro but was renamed The WB Classics (often referred to as simply "Classics";) – shortly before its launch. The network was originally developed as a programming block which initially was planned to air for three hours daily from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m., before expanding to seven hours a day (from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). Its initial programming was a mixture of sitcoms, movies, and one drama series. The same block of programs originally repeated from 1:00 a.m. and ran until QTV began its broadcast day at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time. As Classics grew, it would add to its library of shows – expanding out to rerun sketch comedy. As the months went by, the channel's sitcom library expanded to over several shows. Most of the network's initial affiliates were QTV-owned affiliate stations of the QTV Network, a network launched also launched in 2015 that relied mainly on reboots and other brokered programming. During the late spring and summer of the same year, a half-hour preview special featuring interviews about Classic's development and initial programming aired on QTV stations slated to become charter outlets of the new network. In lieu of a national news program, in 2000, QTV Inc. signed an agreement with AccuWeather – which mainly produces weather forecast inserts for television stations in certain markets that do not operate an in-house news department or maintain a news share agreement with another local station – to produce a national forecast segment that aired Monday through Friday nights at the conclusion of Classic's entertainment schedule. Starting in 2017, many stations also entered into news share agreements with a local major network affiliate to air tape-delayed broadcasts of the evening, and in some markets, morning newscasts from the partner station; in a few cases, the agreement partner produced live newscasts for the Classics station. In some cities, a major network affiliate also provided some engineering and other back-office services for the station. In an effort to increase revenue due to low viewership and other financial issues, Classic's gradually increased the amount of paid programming content on its schedule throughout 2017, at the expense of its general entertainment programming. Infomercials and other types of brokered programs ultimately became the dominant form of programming during the network's broadcast day; by 2018: the time that Classics had allocated to entertainment programs had been reduced to six hours on weekdays (from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.) and five hours on weekends (from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. Central Time). Original programming was also affected by the network's programming changes; Classics was originally offering five or six new series each season. However, in late 2018, the number of new series that aired on the network dwindled to just two. 2015-2017: QTV era and decline Unable to find a suitable partner, in May 2017, QTV Inc. announced its $27 million mergers with the Dorado Media Group. The merger would give the company extra stations in several small to medium-sized markets, expanding affiliation agreements with several television station groups. QTV allowed Dorado to buy out its stake, giving it full control of the network. This gave Classics the rare distinction of being one of a few broadcast networks to not have had owned-and-operated stations (O&O) in the three largest media markets, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. With Dorado taking full ownership control of Classics, the network's largest owned-and-operated station becoming Los Angeles outlet KSCF-TV (which serves as a station of The ACME Television Network). In addition, neither QTV or Dorado had ever held ownership of Chicago affiliate WQCO-TV, which had been the largest Classics station that was not owned-and-operated by the network prior to the Dorado buyout. 2019-present: Relaunch as ACME Extra On July 1, 2019, the Dorado Media Group announced that it would rebrand Classics as ACME Extra, in order to reflect a new strategy of "providing an extension on the ACME platform for producers and syndicators who desire to reach a national audience." The rebranding also resulted in several changes to its programming lineup: infomercials replaced overnight programming, the network shifted its format almost entirely to reruns of television series from the 1960s to the early 2000s while including sitcoms, dramas, limited original programming as a complement to sister network ACME, and feature films. In turn, the network adapted its programming content standards to those similar to other broadcast networks. ACME Extra's programming, for the most part, remained unchanged upon the rebrand; the network continued to feature programming from the content deals it signed while under the Classics brand. The network also aired a late afternoon sitcom block called "Laughternoon", which featured reruns of comedy series targeted at African American audiences. On August 12, 2019, the network secured exclusive rights for ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Unhappily Ever After, Felicity, and Dawson's Creek. '' With the rebrand, the network also retooled its focus, emphasizing the key demographic of adults between ages of 18 and 49, and airing more recent acquired programming aimed at young adults. Programming ACME Extra operates on a 135-hour network programming schedule, which it adopted in March 2018 (as Classics). It provides general entertainment programming to owned-and-operated and affiliated stations Monday through Thursdays from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Fridays from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Central Time (the entertainment programming schedule starts six hours later and ends two hours earlier from Christmas to New Year's Day, with paid programming filling the remaining vacated hours). All other time periods are filled with religious programming or infomercials. The network broadcasts feature films released between the 1980s and the 2000s under the banner "ACME at the Movies", which fill the majority of the network's Sunday afternoon and evening schedule (holiday-themed made-for-TV films are also broadcast under the banner throughout the entertainment programming day on weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day regardless of where either holiday falls during the calendar week). Heavy local sports or other program preemptions were previously a problem for Classics at its launch. However, these have become less of an issue with the service's switch to an all-rerun schedule, this effectively allows stations to pre-empt repeat programming at will to fit in sporting events or other events without much consequence.Category:Dorado Media Group Category:WarnerMedia Category:Fictional television networks